Open AccessMolecular Imaging in Breast Cancer
Author(s) -
Daniela Miladinova
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
nuclear medicine and molecular imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.534
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1869-3482
pISSN - 1869-3474
DOI - 10.1007/s13139-019-00614-w
Subject(s) - medicine , molecular imaging , positron emission tomography , breast cancer , trastuzumab , mammography , lymph node , cancer , bevacizumab , radiation therapy , nuclear medicine imaging , oncology , radiology , chemotherapy , microbiology and biotechnology , in vivo , biology
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among females with more than 2 million new cases diagnosed worldwide in 2018. Although the prognosis in the majority of cases in the early stages combined with appropriate treatment is positive, there are still about 30% of patients who will develop locoregional diseases and distant metastases. Molecular imaging is very important in the diagnosis, staging, follow-up, and radiotherapy planning. Additionally, it is useful in characterizing lesions, prognosis, and therapy response in BC patients. Nuclear medicine imaging modalities (SPECT and PET) are of indispensable importance in diagnosis (positron emission mammography), staging (sentinel lymph node detection), and follow-up with 18 F-FDG and tumor characterization. Among many available PET tracers, the most commonly used are 18 F-FLT, 18 F-FES, 18 F-FDHT, 64 Cu DOTA trastuzumab (bevacizumab), 68 Ga-PSMA, 68 Ga-RM2 (gastrin-releasing peptide receptor), 18 F-fluorooctreotide (SSTR), and 68 Ga-TRAP (RGD)-3αvβ3-integrin. Molecular imaging helps in evaluation of tumor heterogeneity, allowing a shift from one-size-fits-all-approach to era of personalized medicine and precision oncology.